Fertile Eggs

[Cody Pafford]

So I got a question!! Can hens lay eggs without laying mash?? I'm talking about Fertile Eggs. Now I do feed my chickens laying mash but we are out and need to get more. But then again I have a rooster and I was just wondering if fertile eggs can still be hatched without laying mash! One other thing: Can any breed of chicken go broody and if not all can then can ISA Browns go broody?? Thanks in Advance!

 

[Pyxis]

What you feed them has no impact on whether or not they lay fertile eggs, them mating with the rooster does. If they mate with him, the eggs will be fertile.

As for brooding, every breed can go broody, but that doesn't mean they do, and some breeds, especially the hybrids crossed for egg production, have had this trait bred out of them over many years. Isa Browns are such a hybrid, so while they can go broody, it's very unlikely that they will.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The type of feed fed does nothing for fertilizing eggs, that the roosters job. Most laying rations are lower in protein and higher in calcium compared to a grower or All Flock ration. Layer ration doesn't make hens lay, it's just a particular formula of feed.

Any breed of hen has the possibility of going broody.

 

[eleaserek]

The above posts are true, but if your rooster is eating the same food as your girls, you should consider an all flock ration instead of layer. The reason is that the rooster does not need, nor is it healthy for him, to eat the amount of calcium present in layer feed. But the hens need it to build healthy egg shells, so I'd recommend an all flock or grower feed with free choice oyster shell for the girls,